Thor by Walter Simonson - Omnibus HCReview

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A legendary Thor run is collected in one massive hardcover.

By Jesse Schedeen

The '80s were an auspicious time for Marvel's heroes. This was the time superhero comics truly began to mature, and nearly every franchise was home to a defining run by a legendary creative team. The X-Men had Chris Claremont. Daredevil had Frank Miller. The Fantastic Four had John Byrne. And Thor had Walt Simonson.

Walt Simonson's 40-issue run on Thor is widely considered one of the best in the character's history, if not the best. Simonson succeeded in marrying the wonder, scale, and imagination of the Silver Age Stan Lee/Jack Kirby stories with the more mature and focused writing standards of the '80s. It's a run that continues to hold up today alongside modern classics from J. Michael Straczynski and Matt Fraction.

Simonson's run opens with a classically iconic take on the mythology. Thor is still living life as ordinary Dr. Donald Blake. Odin is still ruler of Asgard. Loki is still plotting and scheming from the shadows. Aside from Balder's unusual status quo, the series should be familiar and accessible to those with only a basic familiarity of the character. From there, it isn't long before Simonson begins introducing new heroes and villains and pushing Thor's mythology to weird and wonderful new places. The very first issue introduces cosmic warrior Beta Ray Bill. From there, Thor teams with his new ally to battle the fire demon Surtur, is transformed into a frog, experiences a rematch with Jormungand the serpent, and faces the prospect of an Asgard without Odin. And it isn't just Thor who grows and evolves over the course of these stories; Simonson also focuses plenty of attention on Balder, Sif, and even formerly minor characters like Skurge the Executioner. The latter stars in one of the single greatest Thor issues of all time, carving his own noble legacy in the process.

In short, it's never a dull moment for Thor and friends. The series is endlessly engaging and creative, yet Simonson also displays a flair for plotting and dramatic build-up that sets the series apart from the laissez-faire stories of the Silver Age. Simonson shows a deep respect for Norse mythology, exploring the width and breadth of the Nine Realms in a way too few writers have since. And it was Simonson more than any other who defined the trademark blend of fantasy and science fiction that defines Marvel's version of Thor. As the character says in the new film, "What your ancestors called magic, and you call science - where I come from they are one and the same." That's what readers will find in Simonson's Thor. Where else will you see a god of legend rising his flying, goat-pulled cart into the depths of space to liberate a race of desperate aliens? The conflicts are always dramatic, but Simonson is also wise enough to temper his writing with humor and wit to keep matters at least slightly grounded. It's nothing as pronounced as Straczynski and Fraction's juxtaposition of Broxton and Asgard, but it's enough to serve the same purpose.

The only weakness in Simonson's writing is that the dialogue can be a bit inelegant at times. Looking back after several years of enjoying the modern approach to Asgardian speech, the faux-Shakespearian tone of old-school Thor is a bit much at times. Characters are still prone to unnecessary amounts of exposition. Luckily, it's never as pronounced as in the Silver Age Thor books, and Simonson's writing only grows stronger over the course of his run.

So yes, these were and still are some of the best-written Thor stories on the stands. With this Omnibus edition, however, the real question is how the art holds up. The Thor by Walt Simonson Omnibus is Marvel's most ambitious effort to date in terms of content and reproduction. The one element of the original Simonson issues that doesn't stand the test of time is the coloring. Printing technology was still woefully inadequate at the time. Though Marvel already recolored these issues once before for the Thor Visionaries: Walt Simonson trades, they've gone back to the drawing board for the Omnibus. The original black and white art was scanned and digitally recolored by Steve Oliff and the studio Olyoptics.

The recoloring process seems to polarize readers. Purists resent the bold new coloring approach, while supporters appreciate the new life these lush colors bring to old stories. Granted, there are many times when the recoloring process backfires and the colors fail to blend with the original inks. Look to the new reprint of Superman vs. Muhammad Ali for one example of that. In the end, while these new colors don't perfectly mesh with Simonson's art, the pages look better than they ever have before.

Thankfully, the colors never overpower the art. They generally enhance the visuals instead, bringing extra depth to the figures and more detail to backgrounds. While some pages are overly bold and even flat in terms of shades and gradients, it's impressive what Oliff and company were able to accomplish. Simonson's art can be challenging to color. It falls somewhere between the stylized, unrestrained imagery of Jack Kirby and the more refined, realistic approach of later artists like John Romita Jr. and Dan Jurgens. Like Kirby, realistic anatomy isn't a chief concern of Simonson, but dynamic perspective and wide scale are. The new colors are just subtle enough to accentuate these qualities. Sadly, the four issues of Balder the Brave don't fare quite as well, with Sal Buscema's art not responding as well to the process as Simonson's. Buscema's work is a bit flatter and less energetic than Simonson's, and the colors manage to highlight that quality rather than hide it.

There's little question this hardcover is a good value. It may be the first Marvel Omnibus to clock in at $125, but it's also one of the thickest to date at nearly 1200 pages. The extensive recoloring alone justifies a slight price bump. The supplemental material isn't copious, consisting mainly of art galleries, but it isn't insubstantial either. Nor will readers save much money by opting for the individual trades. The real problem is that the book becomes almost too large for its own good. This Omnibus is right about in line with the Invincible Iron Man Vol. 1 Omnibus and the Wolverine Vol. 1 Omnibus in terms of thickness. Anyone who has tried to read either of those books will know what a difficult proposition it can be.

Propping the hardcover on your lap in bed is possible, but uncomfortable. Most readers will find it easier to lay the book open on a table or other flat surface. This is also necessary because the book is thick enough that the innermost portion of the pages can be a bit obscured when the book isn't held fully open. Marvel has tried to address this problem in the past by introducing a curved spine that allows more separation between pages. Strangely, this curved spine is only barely apparent on the Thor Omnibus. Whether because of a physical design change or the necessities of printing such a hefty volume, this Omnibus is more unwieldy than most.

Ideally, Marvel should have split this run into two volumes. The result would likely have been more expensive, but also more readable. As we're seeing from upcoming Omnibus collections like The Dark Tower Omnibus and the Fantastic Four by John Byrne Omnibus, the publisher isn't averse to the idea of bundling multiple hardcovers into one slip-cased set. It's a shame this approach couldn't have been used on Simonson's Thor.

But however thick and imposing this Omnibus may be, it unquestionably qualifies as a must-own. Comic fans with even the slightest interest in Thor owe it to themselves to test their might with Simonson's Thor. If they be worthy, they'll possess a book crammed with passion, excitement, humor, and high adventure that continues to set the standard for all Thor stories today.